Inferences about Hit Number in a Virological Model

Alling [1971] considers a dilution series model arising in virology and discusses the estimation of a parameter h called the hit number. His analysis is based on asymptotic properties of various estimators. The present paper develops other methods for making inferences about h. Tests for the homogeneity of data from several series and for the goodness of fit of the model are also considered. The analysis is based upon the use of sufficient and ancillary statistics to factor the joint likelihood into parts appropriate for the various types of problem considered, and is illustrative of a general approach to problems of inference.